Roasted Vegetable Winter Crumble

It’s that time of year when we need to draw deeply upon our super powers. It’s the holidays, there’s no denying it… and all of us are supposed to know how to bake a turkey. I don’t. Also I don’t care to know. I have other super powers. They have to do with multi-tasking, pie baking, patience (usually), understanding (often), and crumble-making.

Let’s draw upon those holiday-necessary super powers and leave the turkey roasting to someone else. Preferably someone we trust. Preferably someone who values a moist turkey.

This savory, comforting, vegetable crumble would be a lovely addition to a Thanksgiving table. Or, you can be like me and eat most of if while watching Season 5 of Grey’s Anatomy in your bed at 10pm on a Tuesday. I mean… equally festive.

This Winter Crumble is from this book: Dinner Pies. Full of satisfying and savory treats that feel extra cozy in these chilly months. My great hope is that the sequel to Dinner Pies is After-Dinner Pies… because that seems only natural.

Instructions

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-inch pie dish (a deep one), and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine crackers, bread crumbs, cheese, pepper, thyme, and butter. Toss to coat everything in butter. Spoon just less than half of the mixture into the bottom of the pie dish and slightly up the sides. Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes, until just golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool while you make the filling.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until softened and browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute more. Add the brussels sprouts, carrots, mushrooms and thyme. Increase heat to medium-high and let the vegetables saute down until well softened, browned, and caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper as the vegetables cook down.

The mushrooms will release a lot of their moisture and then the mixture will brown and cook down.

When vegetables are cooked down and softened, reduce heat to medium, sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir until the flour disappears. Slowly add the chicken stock and stir, scraping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer to thicken. Finally, stir in the cream and remove from the heat.

Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Spoon mixture onto the browned crust. Sprinkle with gruyere. Top with the remaining crumble crust. Place in the oven to bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until top crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving warm.

Veeery interesting! I love the fact that veggie recipes are always easier to find! Is it salty at the end? I am asking because if I wanted to put goat cheese and not gruyere it might become way too salty…

Thanks! I’ll give it a try cooking the veg mixture in the oven for 15 minutes first, then adding the topping to finish it off for the final 15. I’ll check back after I try it and let you know how it goes!